WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — Morning routines may look a bit different next school year, for Williamsville families.
Parents learned more about a proposal months in the making, to adjust school start times, Tuesday night.
The goal is to help high school students perform better in the classroom.
This is what a school day would look like for the district:
Elementary Schools:
Dodge, Heim, Forest and Maple East: 7:50 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Country Parkway and Maple West: 8:20 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Middle Schools:
Casey, Heim, Mill and Transit: 8:20 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
High Schools:
East, North and South: 8:50 a.m. – 3:40 p.m.
This proposal has sparked plenty of questions, so Tuesday night, the people this decision impacts most spoke about this: the students.
"I thought they brought up some interesting points. First, I would like to mention that I appreciate that they approached this solely from a research perspective. They supported their scientific findings," Williamsville East High School Senior Samuel Lee said. "I'm all for it. I think that, especially as a student myself, I find myself studying late at night until 2 a.m. or even 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. I just don't have enough sleep to function for my test."
Williamsville East High School Senior April Yang, "I am also supportive of the proposal. I think a big concern a lot of my friends had was if the school's start time is later, then students would also sleep later. However, in the proposal, they presented us with research that shows that students get more sleep."
"Previously, there was an hour in between school ending and sports starting. That wouldn't change and would start around the same time. It just seems like you would get more sleep than just do better in school overall," Williamsville East High School Senior Tabitha Swiatek said. "Now, I think it's a good idea."
The school board plans to vote on this proposal in February.
If passed, the new start times will go into effect for the 2025-26 school year.
